Although it is well-known that the size can influence the surface plasmon resonance property of coinage metals and the electronic state of the Mott–Schottky junction formed at the metal/semiconductor interface, insights into how the size can be exploited to optimize the photocatalytic activity and selectivity of metal/semiconductor composites are lacking. Here we utilize operando SERS spectroscopy to identify the size effect on the electron-transfer dynamics and the direction at the Au/TiO2 interface. This effect was characterized by the photocatalytic reduction sites of p-nitrothiophenol, which were self-tracked with the SERS spectra from Au nanoparticle and inverse-opal structured TiO2, respectively. The size-dependent unidirectional/bidirectional transfer of photoinduced electrons at the Au/TiO2 interface was revealed by operando SERS spectroscopy, which enables the rational tuning of the reduction selectivity.

Herein, the heterogeneity of the facets potentials is used to improve the SERS activity of anatase TiO2 single crystals co-exposed with {0 0 1} and {1 0 1} facets. Using...

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The intrinsic electronic states of transition metal-containing SERS substrates, especially the effect of spin state on the detection sensitivity still remains unknown. Herein, we propose a simple co-precipitation approach to...